190 research outputs found
Ad Lucem: QED parton distribution functions in the MMHT framework
We present the MMHT2015qed PDF set, resulting from the inclusion of QED corrections to the existing set of MMHT Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs), and which contain the photon PDF of the proton. Adopting an input distribution from the LUXqed formulation, we discuss our methods of including QED effects for the full, coupled DGLAP evolution of all partons with QED at O(α) , O(ααS) , O(α2) . While we find consistency for the photon PDF of the proton with other recent sets, building on this we also present a set of QED corrected neutron PDFs and provide the photon PDF separated into its elastic and inelastic contributions. The effect of QED corrections on the other partons and the fit quality is investigated, and the sources of uncertainty for the photon are outlined. Finally we explore the phenomenological implications of this set, giving the partonic luminosities for both the elastic and inelastic contributions to the photon and the effect of our photon PDF on fits to high mass Drell–Yan production, including the photon-initiated channel
Charm and beauty quark masses in the MMHT2014 global PDF analysis
We investigate the variation in the MMHT2014 PDFs when we allow the heavy-quark masses mcmc and mbmb to vary away from their default values. We make PDF sets available in steps of Δmc=0.05 GeVΔmc=0.05 GeV and Δmb=0.25 GeVΔmb=0.25 GeV , and present the variation in the PDFs and in the predictions. We examine the comparison to the HERA data on charm and beauty structure functions and note that in each case the heavy-quark data, and the inclusive data, have a slight preference for lower masses than our default values. We provide PDF sets with three and four active quark flavours, as well as the standard value of five flavours. We use the pole mass definition of the quark masses, as in the default MMHT2014 analysis, but briefly comment on the MS¯¯¯¯¯¯¯MS¯ definition
MMHT PDFs: Updates and Outlook
We present the latest results of studies within the MMHT PDF framework. We discuss the impact of the most recent ATLAS 7 TeV jet data, demonstrating that while a good fit can be achieved for individual jet rapidity bins, it is not possible to achieve a good description of the data when all bins are fitted. We examine the role that the experimental correlated systematic uncertainties play in this, and demonstrate that by simply decorrelating no more than two sources of error between rapidity bins, a remarkably improved description of the data can be achieved. We then study the impact of NNLO corrections, showing that a mild decrease in the fit quality is produced. We also present the results of including new LHC W, Z, W + c and tt¯ data on the MMHT14 PDF set, showing that a marked decrease in the s + ¯s uncertainty is in particular achieved. Finally, some discussion of the latest work towards the inclusion of the photon PDF within the MMHT framework is presented
Overcoming uncertainty and barriers to adoption of Blue-Green Infrastructure for urban flood risk management: Uncertainties and barriers to adoption of BGI
Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are increasingly recognised as vital components of urban flood risk management. However, uncertainty regarding their hydrologic performance and lack of confidence concerning their public acceptability create concerns and challenges that limit their widespread adoption. This paper investigates barriers to implementation of BGI in Portland, Oregon, using the Relevant Dominant Uncertainty (RDU) approach. Two types of RDU are identified: scientific RDU’s related to physical processes that affect infrastructure performance and service provision, and socio-political RDU’s that reflect a lack of confidence in socio-political structures and public preferences for BGI. We find that socio-political RDU’s currently exert the strongest negative influences on BGI decision making in Portland. We conclude that identification and management of both biophysical and socio-political uncertainties are essential to broadening the implementation of BGI and sustainable urban flood risk management solutions that are practical, scientifically sound, and supported by local stakeholders
Creation of the CMB spectrum: precise analytic solutions for the blackbody photosphere
The blackbody spectrum of CMB was created in the blackbody photosphere at
redshifts z>2x10^6. At these early times, the Universe was dense and hot enough
that complete thermal equilibrium between baryonic matter (electrons and ions)
and photons could be established. Any perturbation away from the blackbody
spectrum was suppressed exponentially. New physics, for example annihilation
and decay of dark matter, can add energy and photons to CMB at redshifts z>10^5
and result in a Bose-Einstein spectrum with a non-zero chemical potential
(). Precise evolution of the CMB spectrum around the critical redshift of
z~2x10^6 is required in order to calculate the -type spectral distortion
and constrain the underlying new physics. Although numerical calculation of
important processes involved (double Compton process, comptonization and
bremsstrahlung) is not difficult, analytic solutions are much faster and easier
to calculate and provide valuable physical insights. We provide precise (better
than 1%) analytic solutions for the decay of , created at an earlier
epoch, including all three processes, double Compton, Compton scattering on
thermal electrons and bremsstrahlung in the limit of small distortions. This is
a significant improvement over the existing solutions with accuracy ~10% or
worse. We also give a census of important sources of energy injection into CMB
in standard cosmology. In particular, calculations of distortions from
electron-positron annihilation and primordial nucleosynthesis illustrate in a
dramatic way the strength of the equilibrium restoring processes in the early
Universe. Finally, we point out the triple degeneracy in standard cosmology,
i.e., the and distortions from adiabatic cooling of baryons and
electrons, Silk damping and annihilation of thermally produced WIMP dark matter
are of similar order of magnitude (~ 10^{-8}-10^{-10})
Gravitational radiation from a particle in circular orbit around a black hole. VI. Accuracy of the post-Newtonian expansion
A particle of mass moves on a circular orbit around a nonrotating black
hole of mass . Under the assumption the gravitational waves
emitted by such a binary system can be calculated exactly numerically using
black-hole perturbation theory. If, further, the particle is slowly moving,
then the waves can be calculated approximately analytically, and expressed in
the form of a post-Newtonian expansion. We determine the accuracy of this
expansion in a quantitative way by calculating the reduction in signal-to-noise
ratio incurred when matched filtering the exact signal with a nonoptimal,
post-Newtonian filter.Comment: 5 pages, ReVTeX, 1 figure. A typographical error was discovered in
the computer code used to generate the results presented in the paper. The
corrected results are presented in an Erratum, which also incorporates new
results, obtained using the recently improved post-Newtonian calculations of
Tanaka, Tagoshi, and Sasak
The Sensitivity of Ligo to a Stochastic Background, and its Dependance on the Detector Orientations
We analyze the sensitivity of a network of interferometer gravitational-wave
detectors to the gravitational-wave stochastic background, and derive the
dependence of this sensitivity on the orientations of the detector arms. We
build on and extend the recent work of Christensen, but our conclusion for the
optimal choice of orientations of a pair of detectors differs from his. For a
pair of detectors (such as LIGO) that subtends an angle at the center of the
earth of \,\alt 70^\circ, we find that the optimal configuration is for each
detector to have its arms make an angle of (modulo ) with
the arc of the great circle that joins them. For detectors that are farther
separated, each detector should instead have one arm aligned with this arc. We
also describe in detail the optimal data-analysis algorithm for searching for
the stochastic background with a detector network, which is implicit in earlier
work of Michelson. The LIGO pair of detectors will be separated by . The minimum detectable stochastic energy-density for these
detectors with their currently planned orientations is greater than
what it would be if the orientations were optimal.Comment: 56 pages, 10 figures, Caltech preprint GRP-347, submitted to Phys Rev
D, uses revtex macro
Double-slit interference pattern from single-slit screen and its gravitational analogues
The double slit experiment (DSE) is known as an important cornerstone in the
foundations of physical theories such as Quantum Mechanics and Special
Relativity. A large number of different variants of it were designed and
performed over the years. We perform and discuss here a new verion with the
somewhat unexpected results of obtaining interference pattern from single-slit
screen. This outcome, which shows that the routes of the photons through the
array were changed, leads one to discuss it, using the equivalence principle,
in terms of geodesics mechanics. We show using either the Brill's version of
the canonical formulation of general relativity or the linearized version of it
that one may find corresponding and analogous situations in the framework of
general relativity.Comment: 51 pages, 12 Figures five of them contain two subfigures and thus the
number of figures is 17, 1 Table. Some minor changes introduced, especially,
in the reference
Noise parametric identification and whitening for LIGO 40-meter interferometer data
We report the analysis we made on data taken by Caltech 40-meter prototype
interferometer to identify the noise power spectral density and to whiten the
sequence of noise. We concentrate our study on data taken in November 1994, in
particular we analyzed two frames of data: the 18nov94.2.frame and the
19nov94.2.frame.
We show that it is possible to whiten these data, to a good degree of
whiteness, using a high order whitening filter. Moreover we can choose to
whiten only restricted band of frequencies around the region we are interested
in, obtaining a higher level of whiteness.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication by Physical Review
Measuring black-hole parameters and testing general relativity using gravitational-wave data from space-based interferometers
Among the expected sources of gravitational waves for the Laser
Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is the capture of solar-mass compact stars
by massive black holes residing in galactic centers. We construct a simple
model for such a capture, in which the compact star moves freely on a circular
orbit in the equatorial plane of the massive black hole. We consider the
gravitational waves emitted during the late stages of orbital evolution,
shortly before the orbiting mass reaches the innermost stable circular orbit.
We construct a simple model for the gravitational-wave signal, in which the
phasing of the waves plays the dominant role. The signal's behavior depends on
a number of parameters, including , the mass of the orbiting star, ,
the mass of the central black hole, and , the black hole's angular momentum.
We calculate, using our simplified model, and in the limit of large
signal-to-noise ratio, the accuracy with which these quantities can be
estimated during a gravitational-wave measurement. Our simplified model also
suggests a method for experimentally testing the strong-field predictions of
general relativity.Comment: ReVTeX, 16 pages, 5 postscript figure
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